What bothers me is that some people are missing the point here. It’s not just whether it was consensual or rape, but the fact that it is a pastor who is accused of sleeping with a 17 year old girl. It is a moral issue and not a legal one, a pastor who is a custodian of the Christian faith approaching a girl for sex is bad enough, actually engaging in the act is sacrilegious. When you answer the call as a preacher of the word, it is assumed that you have transcended to a higher level of spirituality and grace, you shouldn’t put yourself in a position where your morality is questioned and certainly should be above petty temptations. Once is a mistake and a possible weakness in the face of temptation, twice, thrice, it is now a habit and you have become the temptation. Make your own independent inquiry, you will be shocked by the number of girls who have been tempted or fallen to the temptation that some of our pastors have become.

I hold pastors in very high esteem and trust them unconditionally because of the anointing they are assumed to have, the Word they preach and the bible they wield. My absolute and total faith in God and my unwavering belief in the efficacy of prayer is because of the very revered pastors I came in contact with as a child. Men who carried the bible with so much grace and humility, men whose daily lives so glaringly reflected the message they preached. I vehemently reiterate that pastors are the custodians of our religion, a lot of people rely on them for spiritual growth, they wield an enormous amount of influence on their congregation and must live according to the Christian ethos which they have a sworn duty to promote.

Do you know what it does to a child who goes to a church in search of succour and salvation, armed with a burning desire to leave this carnal world behind and be born again in Christ, only to be further corrupted or molested by the very person whose responsibility it is to nurture and direct them to the path of salvation. This disappointment can drive a child deeper into sin and it will be another soul lost to the devil; the ultimate loser is the body of Christ. The bible says “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord” Jeremiah 23 vs 1-2 – The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom

What do you think becomes of that child’s faith in God seeing the same pastor preaching every Sunday in church after making sexual advances, raping or having consensual sex with him/her on Saturday. Have you paused to think of the confusion this will bring to her young mind, it will definitely make the child averse to Church and everything concerning God. Imagine your father holding a cigarette while vehemently lecturing you on how cigarettes are dangerous to your health. His advise and good intentions will be dead on arrival.

“Touch not my anointed and do them no harm” is a bible verse which many pastors have used to escape the condemnation of the people when they err. “Anointed” which is the key word cannot be present in the life of a pastor who commits sin in the night and assumes a holy stance in the morning, or one who molests boys, girls or women in his congregation. While it is possible to deceive people and get away with sin, it is also possible to go to court with your fancy lawyers and walk free, it is impossible to deceive the Almighty Jehovah.

Proverbs 24:12 says, “If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?” Eventually those who are called by God or claim to be called to serve in his vineyard and yet deceive people in HIS name will meet him at the altar of Judgement – Sir Stanley Ekezie